The price of a barrel of Brent oil, which rose to $81.72 on Friday, closed the day at $80.28. The price of a barrel of Brent oil increased by 0.61 percent compared to the closing price at 09:09, reaching $80.77. At the same time, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil found buyers at $77.58.
The rise in prices was driven by concerns that ongoing conflicts in the Middle East could disrupt global oil supplies.
The conflict between the Israeli army and Hezbollah in Lebanon continues. Yesterday, a deadly attack was carried out on the Druze city of Mendel Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The attack had escalated tensions between the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon and the Israeli army. Ahead of the possible Israeli army attack on Lebanon, some countries have warned their citizens to leave Lebanon or not to travel there.
Israel’s attacks on the blockaded Gaza Strip have been ongoing for 297 days. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on social media over the weekend that “operations will be carried out” in some areas previously declared as “safe” zones in the Gaza city center, Al-Shuhada and Al-Bureyj, and called for the evacuation of the residents.
These tensions continue to drive up oil prices by raising supply concerns in the region where most of the world’s oil reserves are located.
On the other hand, this week market players will follow the meetings of international banks, which are expected to provide clues about the roadmap. While it is almost certain that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will leave the policy rate unchanged for the last time at 5.25-5.50 percent on Wednesday, the signals to be received from the policy text, economic projections and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s statements are expected to be decisive in the direction of asset prices.
The Bank of England will also announce interest rate decisions, inflation and growth data this week. Investors will be closely following the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decisions on Wednesday.
It is stated that technically, the range between $81.52 and $83.82 can be monitored as the resistance zone for Brent oil, while the range between $79.22 and $76.92 can be monitored as the support zone.
